Gilas Pilipinas wins gold in 2015 MVP Cup, downs Chinese-Taipei in closer

GILAS PILIPINAS. PHOTO BY TRISTAN TAMAYO/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

That’s a wrap. A golden wrap.

Gilas Pilipinas dismantled Chinese-Taipei, 90-77, to close out the inaugural Master Game Face MVP Cup on a 3-0 record Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Filipinos took the gold medal in front of the home crowd, while Chinese-Taipei bowed out with a 0-3 record.

Gilas had a comfortable 20-point lead, 81-61, at the 7:33 mark of the fourth quarter, but Chinese-Taipei went on a 14-2 run to cut the lead to eight, 83-75, when Cheng-Ju Lu nailed a three-pointer with 2:55 remaining.

Philippine head coach Tab Baldwin knew his team did not dominate a depleted Chinese-Taipei lineup who did not play Chih-Chieh Lin and Wen-Ting Tseng.

“We didn’t play great tonight; we played against a Chinese-Taipei team who played without, arguably, their best wing player in Lin and Tseng,” Baldwin said.

“We controlled the game, but we didn’t dominate.”

Andray Blatche led Gilas with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Asi Taulava added 13 points and six rebounds.

Terrence Romeo put up an all-around game for the Filipinos with 12 points, five rebounds, and four assists, while Calvin Abueva had 11 points and six rebounds for Gilas.

Lu led Chinese-Taipei with 23 points. JE